MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Britney Vela is doing what she knows best, serving food to people in need. She has been working at Our Daily Bread in Bradenton for 10 years. As the food pantry manager, she ensures all the food is organized and the volunteers are on task.

“If we weren’t here, and you were hungry, how would you get a meal? You’d end up breaking a law, having to go somewhere or dumpster diving. Being able to prevent that is a blessing,” she said.

She said giving free food and warm meals is a blessing that people desperately need right now.

“The price of food has gone up. Rent, gas. And they live off a fixed income, and their checks aren’t going up. But the cost of living is. So thankfully for them, we’re here and we can, you know, help with that,” she said.

Britney says more people need help. Our Daily Bread produced 20% more meals this March compared to March 2023. Their food pantry has increased production by 40% compared to this time last year, helping more than 10,000 people save money and get the food they need.

“That makes them able, you know, to have that extra money to meet rent, meet their light bills, meet their water bills and their kids,” she said.

They serve roughly 300 families every day with food pantry items, basic care products, and meals.

“Protein is important. Kids are growing,” she said. “Everybody deserves to have a good dinner. Everybody deserves it. Nobody should go hungry,” she said.

Britney knows what it’s like for people who need help because, at one point, she did too. She had just moved to the county as a single mom of two young kids with only $200 in her pocket.

“Just being able to know that help and now what that help feels like is a blessing, a very big blessing,” she said.

She’s already made a difference for her family and is now offering the same help to those in need.

The soup kitchen is open every single day from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The pantry is open Mondays and Fridays 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

There was a food drive through event in St. Petersburg on Saturday to help fill the gap this summer for families in need.

One in eight kids in Pinellas County are food insecure, which is why local organizations hosted a drive-thru food pantry for the summer.

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County and St. Petersburg Free Clinic are hosting six drive-thru pantry events for the summer, and the first one was on Saturday. Officials tell us that this summer they will be feeding more than 2,000 families. They explained why this summer is crucial to fill the gap for families compared to past years. Officials say it is because of the increased cost of basic necessities like groceries.

Each family will receive more than 50 pounds of food at each event. That includes items like fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat, as well as canned goods and other non-perishable items. Altogether, at the end of the summer, they will have donated 120,000 pounds of food to families in the county.

Beth Houghton, CEO of the Juvenile Welfare Board, said, “And so this summer, you have this time where rents have been going up, utilities have been going up. Wages are not going up as much. Food costs are up for families really in a crisis this summer, more than we’ve seen for a few years.”

Their next drive-thru food event will be on June 29 at the Feast Food Pantry in St. Petersburg.